Southern Glow
by JimmyP
Summary: Sawyers encounters with his daughter. AU Takes place as if there was no crash. FINALLY UPDATED AND COMPLETE! Possible sequal coming soon!
1. First Sight age 4

**A/N: Hi! Here I am with my first fic (WooHoo). Its probably not very good but feel free to review. Your opinions are always welcome. Oh yeah and this is completely AU (though you probably can tell from reading this).**

Southern Glow 

Today was the first day he saw her.

He just stared at her on the roundabout, spinning endlessly. He didn't know what it was about her but he knew that she was his. He could see it in her eyes, in her smile. The way she laughed when she spun. The way she cried when she fell off and grazed her knee. He just knew.

He didn't know why he was there. He wasn't usually up this early. He wasn't even sure if he'd been to sleep. He came to the conclusion that it was fate the brought him here. There was no other reason that he could think of, no other possible explanation.

He looked around for the mother and found her almost straight away. She looked sad…in a way. Her brown hair was scrunched up in a messy ponytail and her eyes looked tired and uneasy. The daughter said something inaudible to her and she just smiled and nodded. And in that split-second, she was how he remembered, happy.

He didn't know whether he should talk to her. Call her name from across the playground. He played the scene in his head. "KATE…" he would shout and she would look over…in disgust that he had the nerve to speak to her. To come back after all these years after no contact. She would scream and rant at him and embarrass her daughter. She didn't need that, neither of them did.

Sawyer thought she looked like his mother in a way. His father always said he had a 'southern glow' and he could now se what he meant. Some of the similarities seemed a little eerie. She made this little face when she had a plan of some sort or she remembered something. This exact same expression was made when his daughter decided to scare her companion by clutching his shoulders. It was almost like a covert mission where she was ever so sneaky and did it at just the right time. He didn't know who the boy was. He could have been a friend but the way they acted towards each other made them seem like siblings. Kate had probably got married by now, probably to someone high-rise like a doctor, and the boy was the result.

His watch said quarter to eleven. He knew it was time to go. He stood up and stretched his legs in what seemed like the first time in years. He took one last look at his child and smiled. He vowed that whatever the case may be, he would see her again. He slipped out of the park unnoticed.

**So, what do you think? I know it's short but I didn't want to drag it on. I'm npt sure if I should keep this as a one shot or write a few more chapters describing their next meetings. Please review and tell me what you think.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**James **


	2. Hotel encounter age 8

A/N: OK, here goes chapter 2. I wasn't sure which direction I wanted to go with this story and in the end decided to have it as all Sawyers dealings with his daughter. It's not pacifically gonna be one big story as such but a series of one shots in a way. Please read, review and enjoy.

Sawyer hated his new job.

He had been forced to work in 'formal' employment ever since Hibbs went down and he hated it so much. It was a nice hotel, he'd give it that, but the work was boring. He just sat behind a desk all day not really doing anything. He wasn't really allowed to do any major work at the moment but he was still a 'trainee' and had to properly learn the ropes first so no mistakes were made. To be fair he's only been there three weeks. However, today was different.

"James, I'm just going to the bathroom. I'm sure I can leave you for five minutes without screwing up." Sarah was one of his co-workers and, to be honest, was a bit of a bitch. On his first day, Sawyer has spilled coffee all over her so maybe she was like that just to him. Sarah got up and marched off and Sawyer was left on his own.

Not a minute after she had left and a customer was ready to book in. "Welcome to the Gateway Hotel, how may I help you?", Sawyer said in a monotonous voice.

"Hey, I'd like to book a room for four, please" said the man. Sawyer looked up at him and looked around. He was the only other person in the lobby. "Oh, don't worry," the man explained, "my wife and kids are coming". It was at this moment Sawyer wished Sarah could have held it 'till her break.

It was her. The girl he had first seen in the park 4 years ago. It was his daughter. She ran up to the man who she saw as her daddy and looked round in awe. "Is this really what a hotel is like, Daddy?"

"It sure is, sweet pea. Do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's cool."

"JACK!" Kate acknowledged that she wanted to see him. She was holding the hand of a boy who looked so bored he would probably would hold a tantrum if he was a few years younger.

"Wait here, honey." Jack told his daughter. He then turned to Sawyer. "I'm sorry about this, erm…"

"James"

Jack nodded his head after seeing his tag. "I'll be right back". So Sawyer was left with his daughter, almost alone. He had never been so nervous.

"So, what's your name."

"Ella, what's yours?"

"James. How old are you?"

"8, how old are you?"

Sawyer laughed. "Too old."

Ella laughed, though stopped when she saw the candy jar. "Can I have one, pleeeeeeease?" She looked at him with puppy dog eyes and Sawyer couldn't resist.

However by this time Jack was back. "Erm, excuse me, what did I tell you about candy, huh?" Ella looked ashamed and Sawyer had to but in.

"Erm, it was my idea. I gave her the candy."

Jack nodded. "Ok, but you next time to say no don't you?" Ella nodded; glad she had been let off the hook. "Oh yeah, I'm sorry but can you cancel our booking? We're going to stay at another hotel."

"But I like it here. Please can we stay, pleeeeease."

"NO." Ella went into a stunned silence. And ran off to Kate who was staring at Sawyer with a hatred he had never seen. "I'm sorry".

"It's okay, have a great vacation." Sawyer made a smile, the complete opposite of how he felt inside. As they all walked of, Sarah came back.

"I hope you didn't do anything to make them leave!"

"I'm going to take my break now."

Sawyer stormed off to the restroom. He knew why they had left. It was because of him. Because of what had happened. Sawyer made sure no one was around before going into one of the stalls and crying for the first time in 15 years.


	3. Therapy age 16

Sawyer wondered if all therapist waiting rooms smelt funny.

He had lost count the number of times he had been here but the weird aroma that filled the room remained. He couldn't put a finger on what it was but he knew he had never smelt it before and after his treatment would probably never smell it again.

Stanford was running late, which was unusual as usually Sawyer was the one who wasn't on time. He had arrived punctually today so the person before him must have really had some problems. He looked at his watch. 5:15. 5 minutes more and he was leaving.

Sawyer wasn't sleeping again. He first suffered from insomnia during his conning days…must have been his subconscious guilt. But now, the cause was something completely different. He didn't go a moment without thinking of Ella. She would be about 15 or 16 now and it caused him so much pain to know she had never known her real father.

The therapy had brought with it loss of sleep and brought back suppressed emotions. To be fair, it had helped him get over his alcoholism. Ever since his meeting with Ella 8 years ago, he slowly sank into a deep depression. He moved from job to job, spending his nights drinking, drinking and…well…drinking. It was only when his fellow colleague at the bookstore (his 8th job in 3 years), Claire, recommended him to Stanford. He had helped her through a difficult time when her long-term boyfriend left her with a baby to look after and a broken heart to mend. He seemed to do the trick with her, as she seemed to always be cheerful. Sawyer decided to give it a shot. Here he was, 10 months later.

5:20. Time to leave. Sawyer slipped on his jacket and stretched his legs when Stanford's office door opened. Sawyer hadn't previously known who took the slot before him and if he did maybe he'd have stopped coming here a long time age. There he stood, face-to-face, with a teary faced Ella.

Sawyer mentally noted that she looked tragically beautiful. Ruined mascara ran down her cheeks from her red puffed-up eyes. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, which was obviously done in a rush. She was a shadow of her former, happier self that he remembered. And before he could speak to her again, she was gone, but a 10 second glimpse would forever be burned in her father's memory.

"Mr. Ford!" Dr. Stanford remarked in what Sawyer could only describe in shock. "I thought our appointment was cancelled."

"No, that's next week." Sawyer was going to the funeral of his Uncle Geoff. The deceased had developed a brain tumor (of which Sawyer was not notified) and had died after a long battle (obviously not long enough to spread the word). He had organized for his appointment to be moved but 'Stupid Stanford' had obviously marked it as today.

"I've just got to get something from my car. Make yourself at home in my office so we can rearrange a date later this week to make up." Stanford rushed off outside and sawyer entered the office, again pondering why the smell didn't linger in this room. The he saw it. In a rush Stanford had obviously left Ella's file on his desk. Sawyer couldn't resist.

The first thing he noticed was her last name. It had originally said 'Ella Shepherd' but the Shepherd was now crossed out and replaced with 'Austen'. Sawyer scanned down for an address and noted it down on a separate piece of paper and slipped it in his pocket. He passed this house every day on the way to work. He hadn't even known his daughter was living in this state even, let alone the same town only a few blocks away. He considered looking for the reason her being here but decided against it. The girl needed her privacy.

Sawyer heard footsteps and hastily put the file back where he had found it and sat down on the leather chair, thinking it would be Stanford coming back. Instead, he heard a female voice, Ella's voice.

"Oh, erm, sorry to disturb you but I think I left my bag here."

Sawyer saw it straight away and turned round, giving it to Ella. She rummaged around inside and after about 20 seconds she closed it satisfied. "Making sure I didn't take anything?" Sawyer asked.

Ella laughed. "Actually, yeah! I'm sorry, it's just… erm…I have trust issues, even with someone I've only just met."

"Have a nice day."

"Yeah, you too." She strolled out hastily. Sawyer mentally kicked himself for not saying anything. He didn't fell like therapy any more.


	4. Confrontation and Revelation age 18

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've had a bit of writer's block but I think I've solved my dilemma now. I was just wondering whether you think I should end my story after Sawyer and Ella finally properly meet or I should continue when they have a better relationship. Oh yeah, and a big thank you to every one that's reviewed.

**Disclaimer: Just remembered that I haven't put this in. My first name may begin with J but my surname is definitely not Abrams so I unfortunately do not own Lost.**

Sawyer hated Driveshaft.

He was sitting in the extremely comfy drivers seat of his Porsche (one of the only good things to come out of his conning days) eating his lunch of peanut butter sandwiches (a joy introduced by Claire) and listening to one of the stupidest and most terrible songs ever written. Sawyer groaned and turned the dial to put it on something better. He finally stopped on Led Zeppelin (classic!).

This was the 332nd time he had sat outside her house and the 332nd time he had seen her walk out of her house and get in her car and drive to where ever she went during the day. He didn't know whether she went to school or whether she worked. He didn't know whether she still went to therapy (God knows he never turned up again) or whether her life was back on track. But today, he knew that he was going to do something.

He finished his lunch, turned after the car radio and started to walk up the drive that led up to the house. He noticed that the house didn't really stand out. The lawn was well kept, the paint wasn't chipping off and every seemed to be as good as new. The doorbell gave off a cheery tone that Sawyer knew what would probably juxtapose what was to come. He knew Kate didn't leave the house during the day and he was glad. He needed to talk to her alone.

The door opened and Kate stood there (as beautiful as ever) and her face went from a half-smile to a look of shock and almost anger. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"Have you come to see her? 'Cause if you have… she's already left for school."

"I wanted to speak with you."

"Well, I don't wanna speak with you." She said it with a sense of obviousness and hurt. "You almost ruined my life but I got back on track. The last thing I need is for you to come and fuck it up again."

"Please, let me insi…" A car screeching behind him cut him off. It was Ella's car. The girl sprinted up the driveway.

"Mom, I left my Math textbook upstairs. I'll be 2 seconds." She ran upstairs and left Sawyer and Kate to stand awkwardly.

"To tell you the truth…" he explained quietly, "…I do want to see her, but I wanna have a proper meeting that we can arrange."

"But why now, why after 18 years. You saw her at the hotel and you didn't say anything. Why?"

"Because of you! I thought you would never let me and I didn't want to make it hard on her. But she's old enough now to know the truth. It's the right time. My life's back on track and…" He stopped when he heard approaching footsteps.

"Bye Mom." Ella kissed her mother on the cheek. "Oh yeah, who's this. Do not tell me you've finally met someone after what Dad…sorry, I mean _Jack_ (this word was said with almost some kind of disgust) did to you".

"He's no-one honey, he's just leaving." Kate looked at Sawyer as if implying something.

"You still haven't answered my question and…"

Sawyer couldn't take it anymore. "I'M YOUR FATHER!" he shouted.

A tear began to roll down Ella's cheek and she ran back to her car and drove off. Kate looked into his eyes. "I think it's best you don't come here anymore. If she wants to find you, she'll find you."

Sawyer looked down. She had left her Math textbook on the floor.

**Oh yeah, one more thing. Could someone tell me how to do a break (like a horizontal line) in the page on Microsoft Word. It would be much appreciated.**


	5. The Chase age 18

.**A/N:Hello again. I had this chapter planned out a couple of days ago but about 5 minutes ago scrapped that plan and went for this one instead. Thanks to everyone that reviewed and special thanks to SassyLostie for telling me how to do a page break. Much appreciated. Oh yeah, this chapter takes place straight after chapter 4. **

**Disclaimer: Just so we are clear I have nothing to do with Lost or anyone to do with it. I'm just a bored almost 16 year old (my birthday is tomorrow) sitting at home in England who felt like writing fan fiction. OK!**

Sawyer had never been a good sprinter.

He once came third in a race in high school but only because the best runner in the school fell over and took out the second and third best with him. So really he should have been sixth. "SHUT UP!" he shouted to himself as he ran down Kate's drive. He jumped into his Porsche and swore as he sat on his half-finished sandwich.

The car stuttered. It hadn't really had many problems before. Maybe it was a sign. The bang of Kate on the window made him jump. "Get out of the car, NOW!" she screamed. "You had no right to tell her that…she was fine before you did. Now, I don't know what could be happen…" Sawyer didn't have a chance to hear the rest as the car succeeded to start and he rushed off after his daughter.

It was good there was not much traffic on the roads making sawyers job a hell of a lot easier. He knew that she had turned left after the house but that was it so he just had to scour the streets. There wasn't much hope but he had to try, hadn't he? Even so, more and more as time went by he felt like giving up. He checked his watch. He had been searching for half an hour. It was time to stop.

He made a U-Turn and started heading back up Cresswell Avenue. He sighed and let his head drop in disappointment (only for a split-second though, he _was_ a good driver). He stopped at the traffic lights and waited for them to go green. That's when he saw her car.

She was waiting at the right of the junction. Sawyer saw she had been crying. She obviously hadn't been to school. Sawyer knew it was a bad time but he couldn't help seeing her mother in her at that point. She was so tragically beautiful, like her.

Her car started to move. Sawyer knew he had to catch up with her car and hit the gas. Unfortunately he hadn't realized his light was still red. Also, he hadn't realized that he was extremely low in gas. The car stuttered and stopped in the middle of the junction. He looked to the right and saw Ella's car trying to stop from hitting him and then…

CRASH!

**So, what did you think? You know the drill, please read & review. You know you want to.**


	6. First Steps age 19

The first few steps were always the worst.

Sawyer was glad that Ella had asked him to be there. It had been 6 months since the accident. Apart from a broken arm, sawyer was fine but Ella on the other hand. Her car was obviously quite old and the driver's seatbelt was broken. Ella had been launched out of her windscreen, straight through Sawyer's back seat windows and hit the ground on the other side.

The doctors feared that she would never walk again. Thank god they were wrong. It turned out Ella's former stepfather, Jack, operated on her and managed to 'fix' her. Many experts considered this a miracle. Sawyer thought it was just damn luck. Both he and Kate had tried to prevent him from seeing Ella but after she heard about this she demanded to meet with him. Sawyer remembered this conversation all too well.

_--------------------------------------------_

_(Flashback)_

_Sawyer stepped tentatively into Ella's room. She was sleeping and he didn't want to wake her. He leaned over her and swept away the stray hairs that lay across her face, hiding her beauty. He chuckled to himself, forgetting the no noise policy he had enforced onto himself. Ella stirred, and Sawyer tried to shush her back to sleep, to no avail._

_Her eyes opened and she stirred. She had a blank expression for a few seconds and then realized who Sawyer was. She smiled. "I'm glad you came."_

_Sawyer remained silent for a few seconds. "Sooo…what do you wanna know?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Well…" Sawyer looked embarrassed, "You must have some questions." Ella looked confused. "Y'know, about why I left."_

"_Oh!" Ella paused for a moment. "Why'd you leave?"_

"_It's a long story."_

_Ella pointed to both her legs, which were propped up in separate casts, just like in a cartoon. "I've got time."_

_Sawyer liked her attitude. If she wanted something she would get it some how. Here she was using part humor and part sympathy. "About 20 years ago, when I met your mother, I was a criminal. A conman of some sort. Your mom, well,… she was kinda my accomplice."_

"_Really?" Sawyer expected her to be disgusted or at least saddened in some way but she actually looked excited, as if (in her eyes) Kate now seemed interesting and not just a boring mother._

"_We went round, tricking people into spending their money on junk, stuff like that. Nothing serious. Then it got out of hand."_

"_How?"_

"_I tricked this woman into giving her money, or to be more truthful, her husbands money." Ella gasped, completely entranced like it was some kind of fairytale. Sawyer laughed. "You enjoying this, cutie pie?"_

_Ella giggled at her new nickname. "You can't beat real life," she stated, very matter-of-factly. _

"_The thing is, the same thing happened with my parents when I was about 8. When I wasn't conning people I spent my time looking for him. I even adopted his name, Sawyer. I had become the man I despised."_

"_Did you find him?"_

"_No. I stopped after I was tricked into killing someone under the impression it was him. I never want to kill again. I hated what I had done…and still do. Anyway, when you mother found about this, you see, she wasn't involved in that, a conflict arose between us. One night, our anger turned into passion and it looks like you were the result. After that…we sort of drifted apart."_

_Sawyer then proceeded to tell her about his first sightings of her and how he sank into depression and alcoholism. Ella sat silent, taking his story. Suddenly, a look of realization came across her face. "I just realized, I don't yet know your name."_

"_You can call me Dad."_

_--------------------------------------------_

Today Ella was walking for the first time in almost 7 months. The crash had caused something in her legs that Sawyer couldn't pronounce. She had to rest her legs for them to heal and was under strict orders not to use them. Sawyer knew that the constant calling for things and the boredom of one room was getting to her. She once admitted that his regular visits were the only thing she now looked forward to.

He was glad Ella asked him to be there. He did admit he was a bit surprised when he got Kate's phone call notifying him of her request. Knowing Kate, she would want to keep it a personal affair (which basically meant he wasn't included). Thankfully, her daughter's voice won out.

She seemed to struggle at first, almost falling over at one point but soon got used to it again. Her face showed true happiness and Sawyer swelled with pride at his daughter. "Do you want to go outside?" asked Kate.

"Definitely," she replied, "but with Dad only".

Kate gasped and Sawyer smiled. "Are you sure?" he asked, "I mean, don't you wanna be with your Mamma."

Her reply was simple. "I asked you here for a reason." Sawyer was satisfied with that answer.

_--------------------------------------------_

**So, what do you think. Did the conversation seem forced or was it all good. And don't worry. Ella's part of the conversation is next chapter. Now, you know what to do. REVIEW!**


	7. Garyard age 19

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of updating. I've been very busy recently and I'm going back to school on Thursday after a 3 month break (I left early because my year got study leave) to start A/S levels so I might not be able to update for a while. I'm only planning to do 1 more chapter after this because I think it's come to the end of the road really. Please review. I want to know what you think and what you liked or didn't like about the story and my writing style (this is my first story so I'm not really sure if there's any blatant mistakes etc.**

_--------------------------------------------_

Sawyer couldn't work it out. Ok, there where two things he couldn't work out.

The first was why the hospital had a little garden/courtyard in the centre. There was probably a perfectly good reason for this but for the life of him Sawyer couldn't work it out. It just seemed like perfect space that could be used for expansion (it was a common held belief that 'St. Sebastian's' was not big enough).

The second thing was why Ella had asked him to be there for her first proper walk after the accident. When she had first got out of the bed she had struggled and it probably hurt and he was the one she wanted to hold her hand and make sure she didn't all over. Her room was on the ground floor so it was easy to get to the garden/courtyard (which Sawyer had now decided to just call 'gardyard') and it was the prime place to go.

They had been walking round in silence for 10 minutes and Sawyer thought it was time to speak up. "You said you wanted me for a reason."

"Yeah."

"What reason?"

Ella turned to face him, "I wanna ask you something."

"What?"

"It's kinda embarrassing."

Sawyer was a bit confused. "It's not…erm…" his face went bright red. "It's not about…y'know…" Sawyer made some sort of gesture with his hands as if to allude something that Ella already knew. She obviously didn't as her face now had a very confused look. "Y'know…_sex_?" The last word was said so quietly and in a tone of almost terror it made Ella laugh.

"No," she said as a look of relief spread over her father's face, "though I kinda wish it was now. That conversation sounds quite interesting."

"NO IT DOESN"T!" said Sawyer a bit too abruptly and loudly. Sawyer apologised to an old couple sitting on a bench. "Now," he said a bit more calmly, "what do you wanna ask".

_--------------------------------------------_

_(Flashback)_

"_Now, I want to know about you. Not your life story or anything, just the important details."_

_Ella put on mock confusion. "I thought all of it was important?" Sawyer looked embarrassed. "Don't worry, I was kidding. My name is Ella Diane Austen. It could become Austen-whatever if I like you enough."_

"_My surname's Ford."_

"_Austen-Ford then, but I think I preferred the other one better." Sawer looked a bit hurt. "Kidding again. Sorry." Ella made a mental note that her dad couldn't take a joke._

"_It's okay, kiddo. Not something I can't get used to."_

"_When I was about 3, Mom married Jack. He was really nice…was being the word used here." Sawyer nodded in understanding. "He had a son called Christian. We got on OK though not the best. Our personalities seemed to clash. Here was about a year younger then me."_

"_What made Jack become such a…well, JACKass?"_

"_He had an affair."_

"_Oh."_

"_It was with one of his patients as well. When Mom found out she kicked him and Chris out almost straight way. I was about 15 at the time. She would cry all day and pretend to be sick to stay off work. Because of that it made me depressed. My grades started to drop and so the school recommended me for counselling."_

"_I already knew about the counselling. I saw you there"._

_Ella suddenly remembered something. "Oh my god! You were the guy who gave my bag."_

_Sawyer nodded. "Did you know it was me?" he nodded again. Ella looked a bit shocked. "Why didn't you say anything?"_

_Sawyer looked embarrassed and mumbled something. "I'm sorry I didn't ear you?"_

"_I didn't wanna ruin you life." He was on the verge of tears aswell as Ella._

"_You wouldn't have. And don't worry, you're here now"_

_--------------------------------------------_

Ella took a deep breath. "I wanna move in with you."

Sawyer looked shocked. "What!"

"I wanna live with you."

"Why?"

"Because…" Ella tried to calculate her answer. "Because I want to make up the time I didn't spend with you."

"Anything else?"

Ella thought for a second. "Also, Mom's become really boring."

Sawyer laughed. "Okay, I can't." Ella looked down sad. "I knew it would be embarrassing." Sawyer had to admit it was very awkward saying no.

"I can't for a few reasons. One, it wouldn't be fair on your mom. She's been raising you your whole life and even if she does seem boring, she cares for you too much to let you go. Two, I haven't got the time or apartment space to look after you. I'm working all day downtown (Sawyer had been promoted to a management job in the bookshop's main office an hours drive from where he lived) so I can't be there quickly if something goes wrong and you'd get lonely by yourself. Three, I don't know anything about looking after a kid."

'But I'm practically a woman now."

"Don't remind me. And four…" Sawyer racked his brain, "there is no four." Ella looked kinda disappointed. Sawyer pulled her in for a super-hug. Other people in the garyard started looking it went on for so long. "I'm sorry." He whispered in her ear.

"Don't worry, I'll still you often right."

"Every Saturday at least. I can take you out and do father-daughter things or we could just hang out. We'll do whatever you wanna do."

"And one more thing."

"Yeah"

"I wanna talk about sex."

Sawyer gave Ella a playful slap around the head. Ella giggled and they walked back inside.


	8. Giving her away age 24

**A/N:** Hi everyone...look who's back! I'm really sorry for the total lack of updates for this story. There never seems to be time where I can just have the time to finish a story. However thanks to the messages from **SassyLostie **I've decided that I can. Having been so long since I last updated (September '06) I don't really remember where I was going with this so here is a final wrap-up chapter, for this story at least. I was thinking I may do either a sequal following Ella's life after this chapter or a prequal with James and Kate as con-artists, leading to him leaving as he became Sawyer. If you're reading, **REVIEW!!!!!** It's not nice in lurkerville, I know I've been there.

* * *

He shouldn't have been this tired. 

He had promised himself he would get some sleep. He didn't want to spoil everything, even though he knew he would be forgiven...eventually...if he did. It wasn't his fault that the hotel bed was uncomfortable and as he waited he rubbed his back, hoping the ache would go away in the next 2 minutes.

* * *

Ella had never been able to resist a nice-looking pair of shoes. However, her feet were now telling her looks could be decieving. She practised how she would walk, examining her face in the mirror to see how best she should hide the pain. It was no use...every smile looked like a grimace in pain. Her mother jumped in shock as she threw her bouquet at the wall in frustration. 

"What the hell are you doing? You have to be holding these in 5 minutes."

"How can I hold anything when I can't even walk?" It had taken time but Ella had slowly regained full use of her legs after the crash. She had been worried that she would have to walk with support for the rest of her life but, with a little bit of her father's over-determination rubbing off on her, she won her battle.

Kate sighed. "Maybe if you spent less time worrying about which dress to choose you could have picked some comfortable shoes. But no, if those shoes look pretty, they must be comfortable."

"Hey, don't be so harsh on her. After all, it's not your wedding." Not that her own mother wasn't nice or helpful but it seemed that Aaron's mother was a bit more helpful with the wedding side of things...after all, she was the only one of the two who had been married before. And anyway, Claire had better fashion sense (in Ella's opinion) and so was probably the one to listen to if she wanted to know which shoes were better.

Ella's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. It was time.

* * *

James had to admit, his daughter was beautiful. As she stepped out of her...dressing room he suppossed...he again noticed how much she reminded him of his own mother, though you couldn't say she didn't take after her own. He remembered when she had told him she was getting married... 

_Flashback_

_"Your WHAT!!!!"_

_"We're getting married Daddy" Sawyer had to admit, he used to like Aaron...right up until this moment. Now he wished he'd never introduced them. They were sitting opposite at his table, resting their hands together on the top and Sawyer could now see the ring. How did he afford a ring like that?_

_"It's a family heirloom. Used to belong to my Mom." Aaron had probably noticed him looking at the ring but Sawyer wouldn't rule out the possibility he was psychic...he always seemed the type._

_He looked at Ella with all seriousness. "You pregnant?" This seemed to confuse her more than anything. Sawyer couldn't understand why, seemed like a perfectly normal question. After a moment, she shook her head. "Then why?"_

_"Because we love eachother."_

_'Don't give me that crap, you've only been dating for six months..."_

_"It's long enough! Dad, I thought you'd understand. I haven't even told Mom yet. I was gonna ask you to give me away..._

_"Wait a second...what?" Aaron stood up. 'Where do ya think you're going."_

_"I thought you'd wanna talk in private."_

_"Well I guess you do have some smarts up there don't ya kiddo." Aaron walked into the living room, leaving father and daughter, face-to-face. Ella sighed and muttered something under her breath. Sawyer knew if he wanted a conversation with her he better not press it._

_"What do you mean you **was** gonna ask me."_

_Ella shrugged. "Well...your my father."_

_"No...I know **why **you asked me, it's just...what made you decide not to."_

_Ella stammered, trying to think of an answer. "It...It's just that...erm..the way..erm...the way you reacted...I thought that...y'know...you wouldn't want to." Ellas looked down sheepishly, almost embarressed. Her father just laughed and took Ella's hand in his. Ella looked up at her father._

_"I don't understand Daddy."_

_"It doesn't matter who you're marrying, where, when, how. If you think it's the right decision, I will be there for you."_

_A smile crept across Ella's face as she understood what he was saying._

_"You're saying yes."_

_Sawyer shook his head. Ella, giddy with excitement, reached across the table and hugged her father. _

_"And y'know, I was kinda startin' to like the guy"_

_"Great minds think alike."_

...how could he have dissaproved, even if it was only for a couple of minutes. Ella squeeled when she saw him as they linked arms.

"Everybody here?" asked Kate.

"Everyone apart from you two." Her mother and future mother-in-law kissed her on the cheek, wishing her luck and left hurridly into the church.

Both of them looked in the mirror as they waited for their grand entrance, giving James another chance to revel in his daughter's beauty. She had changed him, and it wasn't just what he called himself these days. He felt...with her influence...he was a better man. When he noticed that her old boyfriend, Richard, was acting suspicious he picked up the courage to talk to her about it. Maybe if they hadn't talked she wouldn't have followed him and discovered him cheating...with two women on the same night. In a strange way James felt proud of his achievement, after all, how would he have felt if he gave her way away to him instead of Aaron. Aaron may have been an artist (not a stable enough job in his opinion, though he did realise that was a bit hypocritical coming from an ex-con) but he was an honest man who Ella loved dearly. They were right for eachother.

Suddenly, James' thoughts were interrupted. The wedding march could now be heard and the doors opened, revealing the beautiful church. Although not one to know about wedding fashion, James thought it should be a contender for 'Wedding Flower Arrangement of the year'...not that he was interested in flowers of course.

"Ow!" Ella yelped in pain as they took their first step towards the church. James noticed the shoes and realised why. He leaned over and whispered in her ear.

_"Take them off."_

Ella looked at him and giggled. She wasn't gonna take them off. They took another step and she tightened her grip on his hand. Sawyer had already had enough. he let go and bent down, taking the shoes delicately off her feet. Now bare foot she wiggled her toes for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Do you think God will mind."

Ella shrugged. "I have nice feet." Thye both laughed and preceded down the aisle. James felt...proud. As they got to the end he couldn't bare to let go, know she was no longer just his but he knew he had to. He whispered in her ear.

_"I love you"_

_"I know, Daddy."_

And they unlinked their arms as Ella became Mrs.Littleton.


End file.
